You Will Be Missed
by RyleeBeth
Summary: Immediately after she dies, one student runs away, and soon after, everyone else seems to spiral downward. Why did Emma Pillsbury have to die? Multiple pairings, both friendships and romances.
1. Gone

_So, judging from the summary, you could probably already tell that at times this story will be very depressing and emotional. I'm not going to reveal much, but I will say that the end of this chapter will start it all off. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Please read and review!_

Santana stormed down one of the many ominous hallways of William McKinley High School, fighting back the hot tears trying to work their way out of her eyes. She absolutely refused to let down her guard about this. Rachel Berry was most definitely not going to get the best of her on this issue. Well, it wasn't exactly an issue. It was an amazingly large problem that needed to be solved immediately. Santana knew Finn wasn't the smartest, but was he really that stupid? Her eyes locked in on the two lovebirds, and she more or less sprinted over to them. She needed to stop their sickeningly sweet affectionate looks before they made her sick.

"Finnocence, Berry, stop in the name of… gross. I need to talk to you two, well actually, just Frankenteen."

"What do you want, Santana? If you think I'm going to leave you two alone then you're sadly mistaken," Rachel said, possessively grabbing onto Finn's arm.

"Bitch, please."

"Santana, don't talk to my girlfriend like that!"

Finn's comment was a punch to a stomach for the fiery latina. This whole situation was worse than she had thought. Controlling her expression to keep it from displaying any emotion other than anger, she did her best to ignore Rachel's smirk.

"Girlfriend? She's your girlfriend again! But she cheated on you! What are you going to do next, hook back up with Quinn?"

Shit. She didn't mean to hit him below the belt like that. She meant to sting him of course, but just not like that. Why the hell did she mention Quinn? Oh right, because fury and insults were her way of disguising hurt and keeping up her defenses.

"I didn't even have sex with Puck!"

"Well he told me that you tried to! He was the one that called it off! You didn't think he would mention that in his kissing my ass, trying to apologize to me for cheating?"

Why the hell did she say that too? She just gave Berry the next move.

"Cheating on you? I thought you two were never formally together?"

Lie, lie, lie, lie, lie. Her head was screaming at her to lie.

"Well we were for all of two days! We actually decided to try being a real couple but now that's over thanks to you! I, unlike your boyfriend, have the sense to call it off when someone cheats on me."

"Back off, Santana," warned Finn.

"No. I will not back off because I'm right. You shouldn't be back to getting it on with your Jewish gal pal!"

"Why do you even care so much?"

She flinched, but recovered quickly, and gave Finn half of the truth.

"Because you don't even seem to care about the effects of this. Your best friend, who was formerly my boyfriend, and your girlfriend screwed both of us over, and you don't even seem to care! But you know what, I'll leave you two. Don't come crying back to me when Puck gets out the wine coolers, and we have another babygate."

Not daring to observe the surely stung look on Finn's face, Santana ran as quickly as she could. She entered the girls bathroom and sank to her knees, crying. She really wouldn't have cared if it was anyone else who had walked in and saw her. (Well, she would have been really pissed had it been Rachel.)

Sighing, Quinn sat down next to the crying girl and started to soothingly rub her shoulder. Eventually, some of the blonde girl thawed out, and she enveloped her frenemy in a hug. When Santana's sobs were reduced to sniffles, Quinn spoke up.

"Why am I doing this for you? We've been trying to sabotage each other nonstop for the past two years and don't think I didn't hear you using me so flatteringly in your screaming match with Finn and Rachel."

"I don't know. You can go. I don't need you."

"Yes, you do."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You need someone, Santana. You're not going to talk about this kind of thing with Brittany and you're sure as hell not going to talk about this with Puck. I propose a cease fire between the two of us. You can't keep going through everything alone, and as lame as this is going to sound, I miss our friendship. Can we please just stop trying to kill each other?"

"Any other day I'd say no, but I'm obviously… lonely at the moment, so I guess I accept your offer."

"Good. Because our first order of business as people who no longer hate each other is discussing this. So, are you in love with Finn, Puck, or Brittany?"

"Brittany? I'm not gay, Q."

"Bisexual? Don't deny that you've done some things with your best friend."

"We have, but I definitely don't love her. It was just filler the last couple of weeks. I was surprised. I thought I'd feel sad about her being with Artie and no longer making out with me… but I don't. I think I used to love her, but then somebody else came along and screwed it up."

"Finn or Puck?"

"I'm not in love with anyone. Love is lame and sappy. You and Sam are disgusting."

"Any healthy relationship is disgusting to you."

"True that. Now, this little heart to heart is over. Glee club practice starts in ten minutes, and I have to redo my makeup. And by the way, if you tell anyone that Santana Lopez was crying, our little peace treaty will be toast."

"Do you really think I'd tell? During my pregnancy, this bathroom was kind of my crying corner. I'm going to go-

"Meet Sam?"

"Yeah, how did you-

"Of course. You better have him whipped, or else you're just pathetic."

Laughing, Quinn left the bathroom, the light leaving her eyes soon after her departure, once she though of how difficult glee club practice would be. Santana was hurting, the reactions to Finn and Rachel would surely be interesting, and Quinn still (secretly) felt hollow. Plus, this was New Directons after all, some random drama would most likely arise. Why couldn't they ever catch a break?

When glee club started, the tension was thick in the air. Nobody was brave enough to talk to anyone outside of the person sitting next to them. From the way Mr. Shuester entered the room, everyone could tell that something was wrong. Seriously wrong.

"Guys," he said quietly, "I'm afraid I have to pass along some horrible news to you. Ms. P-Pillsbury-Howell… is g-gone. It happened in a car accident."

_I'm sorry. What a mean author I am._


	2. Second World

_So, those of you that read the first chapter will realize that I changed the title and the summary. It's all for good reasons. Now, on with chapter 2. _

She remembers it clearly. After all, who wouldn't? She was driving on the snowy roads of Lima, Ohio, not paying as much attention to traffic as she should have been. Her eyes were swimming with tears as she contemplated her marriage. Marrying Carl was the best decision she had ever made, right? Doubt filled her mind every time she saw one Will Shuester. Did she love him? She didn't know. She also wasn't so sure if she was in love with Carl. All that was on her mind when she realized she accidentally had let her car slip into the next lane. Fighting with the wheel, she heard tires squeak, and felt an incredible force smack into her car. Before she could comprehend the tremendous amount of pain that she should've felt, everything snapped to black.

The blackness laid still for what felt like ages. She tried to move, but her body seemed to be on disconnect. Slowly, a free feeling started to rise within her chest. She felt herself floating above her body. She eventually felt her feet hit a solid ground, startling her eyes into opening. Where was she?

She was in an open field. The grass was pale and the sky was a soft blue. It wasn't cold, but something in the air made her want to shiver.

"You're shivering but it's not cold," commented the sweet voice of what must have been a young girl.

Turning around abruptly, she took in the speaker. The girl had long, waving blonde hair and a few freckles on and around her nose. She was dressed casually, in black yoga pants and a plain blue t-shirt.

"They were right, you're very sensitive to what's going around you," spoke the girl.

"What? H-how?"

"They told me about you before they sent me to wait for you. We've been matched up. I'm going to help lead you through."

"Who are they? Where are we?"

"You really don't know, do you?"

"How would I?"

"Well, some people just know. I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but you're life on Earth is over. You're dead. You're spirit has been lifted up. No, it's not heaven, but it's not hell either. It's kind of like a second life, just one that doesn't end. _They_ are the leaders. Their not leaders by vote or anything official like that, they're leaders in that they're respected for their acceptance."

"No, no, I can't be dead. Maybe I'm in a coma?"

"I'm sorry, Emma, but you're not in a coma. You're dead on Earth, but you're alive here. That's worth something, isn't it?"

"I don't believe in heaven-

"This isn't heaven."

"Why? Why would this happen?"

"I wish I could tell you that."

"But I'm only thirty and you're only…"

"I'm seventeen. Physically, I'm only twelve. I've spent five years up here."

"W-what's your name, sweetie?"

"My name is Farah. Had we met on Earth I probably wouldn't have liked you very much. My sisters would have told me to hate you."

"Why?"

"The names of my sisters are Terri and Kendra."

"Terri Shuester?"

"Yes."

"How is that possible if you died five years ago at the age of twelve?"

"I was… a mistake. My parents didn't mean to have me, but they loved me all the same. And so did my sisters. It was really hard watching them reacting to my death."

"You watched?"

"Well, I meant that they knew I was dying ahead of time. But yes, you can watch people on Earth when you look up at the sky and think of them."

"If you don't mind me asking, how did you… end up here?"

"Lymphoma. My fight against cancer only lasted six months."

"I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. You didn't even have time to know that death was coming."

A horrifying thought occurred to Emma, and her she immediately paled.

"When I crashed, I didn't send anyone else up here, did I?"

"No. The only person in the car you crashed with was only mildly injured."

"Thank goodness. How long have I been dead?"

"Ten minutes."

"What?"

"It felt like hours for me, too. Transferring is quite odd, if I do say so myself. When people say that their dead loved ones are 'in a better place,' they don't quite understand the stress of being placed in the second world."

"Second world?"

"What else could this be called?"

Sighing, Emma looked around again, wondering what else was odd and different about this world. Why did this have to happen? She was only thirty. She had her whole life in front of her and she lost it because she wasn't driving carefully. She hated this. All Emma wanted was to be back on Earth, but unfortunately, that was one dream that could never come true.

_Sniffle, sniffle, poor Emma! Just so you all know, most of this story will take place on Earth. And by that I literally mean on Earth, not Emma watching what's happening on Earth, although you will get to read about her watching them. I just want to make sure that you know that this story is not mainly about Emma, but about how everyone gets by without her._


	3. The Letter

_I apologize for not updating sooner. I have been really sick. I also apologize for some of the events of this chapter and its general angst level. _

"Gone? What do you mean she's gone?" asked Artie.

"I mean… the car accident killed her," Mr. Shuester said solemnly, obviously trying to maintain his composure. All of the glee kids could see that their director wasn't far from breaking down.

"N-no," Quinn stammered out, shaking her head in disbelief while praying that this was a nightmare. She would surely wake up and Mrs. Pillsbury would be alive, right?

"I'm sorry, but it's the unfortunate truth. Now, rehearsals are canceled for today because I couldn't find a substitute so late and I have… things to do, so those of you who need to can take out your cell phones and call your parents. I'll hopefully see you guys sometime soon, but I have to go right now. Bye."

And within seconds, it was just the kids alone in the choir room. Silence hung thick over the room for a couple of long silence. Nobody knew quite what to say, so they kept their mouths shut. The first one to break the silence was Quinn.

"She's gone," she murmured quietly.

Everyone was surprised and moved by the effect that their guidance counselor's death had on the blonde cheerleader. Sam took one of Quinn's hands while Mercedes squeezed the other. Tina's eyes filled up with tears that quickly spilled out and cascaded down her cheeks and Rachel began to quietly sob into Finn's shoulder.

"M-Mr. Shuester," Santana choked out.

"Do you think that he loved her?" asked Puck.

"I know that he did and still does," Finn answered, trying to block out Santana flinching at the sound of Puck's voice.

"Why? Why did this have to happen?" asked Brittany.

Not even Santana knew how to answer Brittany's question, and nearly all the glee girls burst into hysterics. Brittany was too innocent for something like this to happen. What had they done to deserve this? Rachel pulled out her phone to call her dads, but saw that she had a text. She grew angry at the words on her screen. No, she thought, I'm not going to check out creepy Jacob's blog. Everyone else's phones started to beep, and finally, in an attempt to save everyone much annoyance, they looked up his blog on Finn's phone. Everyone gasped at the latest headline, "Quinn Fabray: Cheating Again?"

"What the hell? Sam, I'm not cheating on you, and definitely not with… Finn?"

"What?" Rachel fumed.

"Rach, he's lying," Finn said coolly, "this is obviously another one of ploys to break us up so that he can date you."

"But it's making a lot of sense. I cheated on you when I was angry at you for having sex with Santana, so you might do the same to get back at me, except with Quinn."

"But I didn't! Remember? I got really pissed at you for doing that to me, so I would be a hypocrite to go off and frolic with Quinn."

"Well, Quinn's always been one to steal anyone who has ever been interested me."

"You know that I'm sorry for that! I've changed! And besides, I'm happy with Sam. I'd never cheat on him, and Rachel, Finn would _never_ cheat on you. I think we're all just riled up from… what's been going on. I mean seriously, this is ridiculous. It's one of Jacob's stupid plays. We all know that over 50% of what he types isn't true."

"Well, I don't know," whispered Sam, "you have been talking to Finn a lot lately."

"About our history project. And we didn't even choose each other as partners; the teacher assigned them."

"I just don't know."

"You don't know?" asked Quinn, her voice shaking and her eyes filling up with tears again. She had to get away. Far away from the lies and those who believed them. She promptly turned on her heels and sprinted out of the room. Mercedes knew that she couldn't catch her best friend and decided to call Kurt after cussing out Sam and Rachel, knowing that Kurt's school got out earlier than theirs. Kurt's house was close to Quinn's house, and he could get to the blonde girl to comfort her before Mercedes could.

When Kurt received Mercedes call, he immediately headed for the door. Unfortunately, his Dad gave him the third degree about where he was going, thinking his son was secretly going to see that Blaine kid. After ten minutes, Kurt was finally allowed to leave. When he got to the Fabray house, nobody answered, so he used his knowledge of where the spare key was to open the door. He searched the whole house, but did not find his distraught friend. All he found was a ring and a note written by Quinn addressed to "everyone."

_Dear Everyone,_

_I'm sorry to say this, but this is goodbye. I just can't do this anymore. If I'm going to save myself, I have to leave this town. All of things have been going on, and I just have to get away from here. I'm sorry and I know that I owe you all so much more than this, but you will probably be better off without me. Believe me when I say that this is for the best._

_ Mom, I assume that you're the first one to read this. I want to thank you for trying to make our relationship right again, but it's never going to be the same. I know that you still hate me for my pregnancy and disgracing the Fabray name. I know that you still want me to be so much more than what I really am. I'm not perfect, and I'm tired of pretending to be. You rarely speak to me and sentences and I honestly have no idea if you love me. Regardless, I still love you, and I'm sorry for being such an embarrassing failure. My last request for you is to quit drinking. _

_ Mercedes, thank you for taking me in when I needed it. You're the best friend a pregnant sixteen year old could ever have asked for. You made me feel wanted, and you and your family made me feel like I belonged. I wish I could pay you back some how. You don't deserve a best friend like me. I'm broken and depressed and you deserve better. That goes for you too, Kurt. Kurt, you are truly amazing, and all I ask of you is to keep your faith up. I know your life isn't easy, but please don't ever do anything like I'm doing right now. I know I'm being hypocritical, but you're so much better than that._

_ Speaking of people making me feel like I belong, I'd like to thank the glee club and Mr. Shuester. I love and care about every single one of you all. I know that in the past year some of you have probably wondered if I have a heart, but I really do care about you all. All of you make me smile, and I hope you find a new member that will make you feel the same way. Mr. Shuester, I am so sorry for the loss of Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell. She doesn't mean as much to me as you, but she started to make me feel like I could be ok again. Last week, she caught me crying in the girls' bathroom, and she took me into her arms and hugged me. I was supposed to have my first session with her tomorrow. Emma Pillsbury was a great woman and she promised me that she would help me get through my depression._

_ Yes, I've been depressed. I miss my baby Beth so much, and even though I know that giving her up for adoption was the right thing to do, it still hurts. I feel so empty without her. Puck, I wonder if you ever feel the same way. You worked so hard to clean yourself for Beth and I, and I will always be thankful of that. I wish that I could've loved you like you loved me. Finn, I also wonder if you ever feel the same way. For so long you thought that she was your baby. I just want to tell you one last time that I am so sorry and that I appreciate all that you did for us. But it's not just missing Beth, I've also been feeling like a failure lately. Like whatever I do just isn't good enough. I mean, I screwed up and now my own father won't even talk to me, and my mother hardly does. I was president of the celibacy club, and I got pregnant with a baby that wasn't even my boyfriend's. I know that probably should have told someone about how I've been feeling, but the words just kept getting stuck in my throat._

_ Before I talk about the ring on the counter, I'd like to address a few more people. Rachel, I'm sincerely sorry for all the times I've bullied you. I know that I didn't deserve it, but I just thought you felt more highly of me to believe that I cheated on my boyfriend again. Finn really cares about you and he wouldn't cheat on you. He only cheated on me and made out with you twice because you two had a special connection and I was a bitch of a girlfriend. Yeah, I found out about those make out sessions. I'm not mad. After all, I did have sex with Puck. Brittany, sweetheart, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to come back. You're a beautiful and sweet girl with so much more potential than most people give you credit for. Keep working hard. Mike and Tina, you two have always given me respect and I am extremely grateful for that. Don't think I didn't notice how you put the Finn vs. Puck argument (that I caused) aside, and continued to walk me through the halls to protect me from slushies, Mike. And Tina, you're amazing. Keep up that originality. Artie, honestly, you inspire me. I'm so happy that… Santa got you that Rewalk. You were really sweet to me when we worked on that ballad together. Coach Sylvester, thank you for pushing me to be the best I could be, and thank you for taking me back on the squad. However, I think you might want to work on making your cheerleaders feel good about themselves._

_ Finally, Sam. I just want to say that I love you. When I've been depressed, you've made me feel hopeful. You've been everything for me. I don't deserve you, which is one of the reasons I've stopped wearing your promise ring and am breaking up with you. You're sweet, funny, caring, and generally perfect and you're the one thing that's been putting this off. It's true. I've been thinking about running away for weeks, and you're the reason that I've stayed. But you broke your promise. On our first date you said that you wouldn't judge me about what happened last year. Well, you did. You believed Jacob's lies because I cheated on Finn last year. I know that it's human nature to judge, but if the person I need the most doesn't trust me, then obviously something isn't right. Sam, you deserve so much more than what I can give you. I guess you just don't feel the same way about me, which is fine. I hope that you'll find the love of your life._

_ Goodbye, everyone. Please don't be upset. You'll be better off without me and I just need to start over. I'm not happy here, and now that I've lost Sam's trust and Ms. Pillsbury, I don't feel like I ever will be happy in Lima, Ohio. I can't tell you where I'm going because I don't even know and because some of you might come looking for me. Please just trust me on this. I love you all._

_Sincerely,_

_Quinn Fabray._


	4. Quinn What?

_Here's the next chapter! It's going to be fairly angsty, considering that Quinn has recently run away and so far only Kurt knows. Please read and review. Even if it's a simple "good chapter" or something as short as that, I still like to know what you're thinking._

Santana paced the hallway outside of Coach Sylvester's office, waiting for her coach to come and speak to her. Ms. Sylvester had started everyone else on warm ups except for Santana. She had said that she needed to talk to the Latina, and judging by her slightly chipped facial expression, it wasn't about anything good. Santana just prayed it wasn't about moving her up to head cheerleader because Quinn was missing practice.

"Lopez, stop prancing around and get in my office. Now."

Gulping, the nervous girl obeyed the order and tentatively took a seat.

"Did I tell you to sit down?"

Santana started to get up, but her coach motioned for her to stay seated.

"Sit, sit. It's probably better that I tell you this while you're sitting down. I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

"Bad news."

"Nah, I'm telling you the good news first. You're head cheerleader again."

"Coach," Santana said, not suspecting what Ms. Sylvester would say next, "Quinn's only missing practice because the article Jacob-

"You didn't let me tell you the bad news. You're head cheerleader because Quinn Fabray… ran away."

"W-what?" asked Santana, her voice shaking. Her breathes quickly became shallow and sharp as she gripped the sides of her chair.

"She ran away. The school recently received a call from the police department telling us that she's a runaway. Porcelain found-

"Who?"

"Hummel went to her house and found a letter and some ring that her boyfriend gave her. The letter explained why she left."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I haven't read the note."

"I-I just don't… why? Why did she have to do this to us?"

"Lopez, if I could give you any answers, I would. You are dismissed from practice for the day. And so is Brittany. Everyone from the glee club is dismissed from any school activity they have to help look for Fabray. I'll take care of telling Brittany. Go see if you find anyone from glee in the hallways."

Santana unsteadily rose to her feet and walked out of the office. She only made it out of Coach Sylvester's sight and hearing before she was against the wall, sliding down to her knees. She covered her face with her hands, sobbing. Quinn just had to do this the day they had made things right between them. Santana had been given another person to depend on, but then had immediately lost her. She registered someone calling her name, but she didn't answer. She felt the person crouch down beside her and say her name again softly.

"What?" she asked after inhaling sharply.

"Santana, look at me."

Shuddering, the girl complied. She took in the person beside her and her defenses came up immediately.

"I don't want to talk to you."

"Look, I know that you're mad at me-

"I'm furious."

"And you have every right to feel that way. But that doesn't mean I'm going to leave you to sob in a corner. Santana, is this about-

"I'm not crying over you, Puckerman."

"I was actually going to ask if this was about Ms. Pillsbury dying."

"No, but her death just makes it worse. A few certain glee club members are really going to need her."

"And from the looks of it, you'll need her too. Now, I know you hate me, but can you at least tell me what's going on?"

"You'll find out from the Beiste," she said as she tried to get up. Two strong arms around her waist stopped her.

"Santana," he breathed, his eyes pleading.

Santana stared back at him, stunned by this side of Puck. Usually he was as tough as nails and didn't care about sympathy or other emotions he proclaimed petty. Perhaps Quinn's pregnancy had made him good with crying girls.

"It's Quinn."

"What about her?" he asked, the tone of his voice confirming Santana's suspicions that he wasn't quite over his baby mama.

"She ran away," she whispered too quietly for Puck to hear before succumbing to another wave of harsh sobs.

"What?

But Puck knew he wasn't going to get an answer from the crying girl anytime soon.

"Sshhh, it's ok, San. Everything's going to be ok," he murmured softly, wondering if the comforting words he was saying were true.

He was thankful to see a familiar face walking towards them until he realized that the familiar face was also crying.

"Shit! Why is everyone so emotional?"

"I-I was just g-going to Chinese club a-a-and-

"Spit it out, Tina!"

"Quinn," she cried.

"What about Quinn? She isn't… dead too, is she?"

"No! It's not that. It's that she…"

"She?"

Tina looked at Puck sadly, not sure how to tell him the news.

"She ran away," Santana wailed, causing Puck's attention to snap back to her.

"How do you know?"

"K-kurt found a note from her about why she's r-running away and the police called the school. Everyone's excused from school activities."

"No."

"Puck, I'm sorry."

"Why? Because of the whole cheating article?" he asked angrily.

"Nobody besides Kurt and the police have read her letter!"

"We need to get with everyone in glee and organize who will look for her and where."

"I-I agree," said Tina, "I'll text everyone and tell them to m-meet us in the choir room.

"Alright," said Santana. Puck supported her as she got back on her feet. They walked towards the choir room with Puck's arms around Santana until the girl came to a sudden halt.

"San?"

"How are we going to tell Sam and Mercedes?"

"We'll just tell them what we know and hope they don't have complete mental breakdowns. We'll have to make sure that neither of them is alone so they don't do anything stupid."

When everyone from the glee club, minus Quinn of course, was in the choir room, those who were still in the dark were sure that something was wrong. They braced themselves for the second blow of the day. First Ms. Pillsbury, now-

"Quinn ran away."

_Cliffhanger! I'm so evil. Now please, press that awesome review button._


	5. Holding On

_I'm back with another chapter! Thank you to all who reviewed and favorited. It means a lot and it gives me motivation to keep writing._

Puck flinched at the faces of his fellow glee club members. Their expressions portrayed anger, guilt, shock, disbelief, sadness, and horror. After receiving a chorus of questionings, he and Santana simply stared at everyone regretfully to convey that they were serious. This wasn't supposed to be happening to them. About an hour ago, everything was alright and everyone was ok. Then, their world was rocked by the death of the beloved guidance counselor and the disappearance of Quinn. The silence was tense and growing to be too suffocating for Puck to bear.

"Somebody please say something," he begged.

"Why would she do this to us? We already lost Ms. Pillsbury, why did Quinn have to go off and run away?" Finn asked angrily.

"Finn," Rachel said tearfully.

"It's probably your fault, diva! This is probably all because you and Sam-

"Mercedes-

"No, Tina, Mercedes is right. If Sam and Rachel had trusted Quinn and I, then none of this would ever have happened," continued Finn.

"Hey," interrupted Puck, "let's stop playing the blame game. The police say that she wrote a note explaining this. Maybe the whole cheating drama pushed her off the edge, but there's got to be more to this than that. Besides, if we waste our time yelling at each other, then we're not going to be solving anything."

"Puck's right," seconded Artie, "it's useless to do this because it's not going to change anything."

"You all are right. Sam, Rachel, I'm sorry," apologized Finn, and Mercedes quietly atoned for her words, too.

"It's ok," muttered Rachel, "this hasn't exactly been an emotionally easy day for any of us. We're just all going to have to stick together to get through us."

It was the following silence when everyone realized that Sam hadn't said anything yet. He was just sitting in his seat silently, staring at the linoleum floor. Santana craned her neck and observed him closely. Her eyes started to water again when she saw a few tears slowly rolling down his face.

"Sam," she choked out, pleading with her eyes for him to say something, anything.

"Dude, are you ok?"

"Ok?" he asked incredulously. "How would I ever be ok? My girlfriend ran away because I was being an idiot and didn't trust her! This is all my fault! Quinn ran away because of me! How could I be ok?"

Sam's sudden burst of emotion was expected, but nobody knew quite what to do. Santana let her emotions decide her course of action. She ran up to the blonde boy and threw her arms around him. At first he was frozen and tense, but after a few seconds, his body softened and he returned the hug.

"It's not your fault," Santana murmured, willing herself not to breakdown sobbing again. That wasn't what Sam needed at the moment. Soon, Brittany ran and threw herself and Rachel and started whispering the same things to her. Then, Puck and Lauren were attacking Mercedes with their arms. Finn and Mike gently pulled the three separate hugs together, and everyone popped up, jumping in and hugging everyone else. The two jocks bumped fists before adding in their embraces. Somewhere along the way, Tina lost her balance and fell into Artie's lap, but her boyfriend didn't even care.

"Well, I wish I had a camera," chuckled a familiar voice.

"KURT!" Mercedes squealed, leaving her spot in the middle of the hug and running over to her best friend. Her movement caused everyone to sway and collapse on each other.

"Ok, _now_ I wish I had a camera," he smiled, but his expression soon became serious. "I take it you all heard the news," he added after observing that several faces were streaked with tears.

"Yes, we all know about Quinn."

"Today is really sad," commented Brittany.

"Yes, it is, Britt. I was just recently informed of a certain guidance counselor's death. I think it will be an amazing achievement if I get through this without a mental breakdown. Finding the note was… hard."

"Well if it's any solace, Kurt, I already had a small breakdown a couple of minutes ago," said Sam.

"I had one in the hallway. I'm pretty sure Puck thought I was dying when he found me," sniffled Santana.

"If Ms. Pillsbury were here, she probably could give us some sort of pamphlet for this situation," said Rachel.

"That and some hand sanitizer," Artie remarked sadly.

"This would happen the day we need her the most, wouldn't it?"

"It wasn't intentional," Kurt reasoned, "she just hit her breaking point. Her letter is heartbreaking, you know. You might want some Kleenex when you read it; especially Sam and Mercedes."

"When can we read it? And are all of us supposed to read it?"

"I have a copy of it in my pocket, and don't worry, it's meant for every one of you to read it. Fair warning, a few of the words are hard to read. Tear drops mixed with mascara dripped on the paper."

"I say Sam gets to read it first," suggested Finn.

Agreeing with the nod of his head, Kurt pulled out a folded piece of paper and gave it to Sam, who tentatively accepted it and took a seat. Sam seemed afraid to open it, but determinately unfolded the note. Everyone watched his reaction anxiously. Rachel and Tina started crying again from his facial expressions. Sam eventually finished reading it and looked up at the glee club with watery eyes.

"We'd be better off without her? _Some_ of us _might_ come looking for her? Does she honestly think that her running away isn't going to break us down? How does she not know that we all love her to death? How does she not know that _I_ love her?" he exclaimed angrily.

Kurt walked over and patted Sam's shoulder. "Apparently Quinn's been struggling for a while. She should have told us, but we should have notice."

"I just can't believe that this is happening."

"I don't want to believe it either, Sam."

The letter got passed around and each of the club member's reactions were enough to break even Sue Sylvester's heart. Mercedes and Rachel were tied for the most hysterical, while Sam's was just as emotional in its own right. Finn's, however, was the most emotional.

"We're going to get her back whether she likes it or not. We already lost Ms. Pillsbury, but we're not going to lose Quinn."

_So, I was listening to my iPod while I was writing this, and the Glee version of Time of My Life came on right when I was writing about Sam. Needless to say, I almost died._


End file.
